Working And Living In The Freezing Antarctic
There is one commonality between Dallas, Texas and the South Pole; both get to see 100 degree temperatures in July.Granted, the South Pole sees temperatures of 100 degrees below zero, not above.If you were to stand outside naked, you’d be frozen in a single moment.
There are 28 people stationed at the South Pole for six months knowing that they will have no sunlight, virtually no contact with the outside world and no way to get away.They are there to maintain the U.S polar base and operate the telescopes and other scientific devices located at the research station.Their job is beginning to change due to modern communications and advanced technology.
In the past, astronomers located in North America used satellites to operate the telescope at the South Pole observatory.No one had controlled the telescope at the South Pole prior to this event.It is the hope of Astronomers that some day they will be able to view the universe using the South Pole telescopes from warmer climates.Antarctic Cruising Tours
The crew that stays at the South Pole must find ways to handle the coldest, driest, and windiest climates on Earth.You will not find elevations as high as those in Antarctica anywhere else in the world. Due to this, breathing problems can also be an issue.It is due to the extreme cold and high altitudes that only cold-adapted plans and animals can live here. These include penguins, seals, various types of algae and tundra vegetation.
The crew that stays the long six months of winter in Antarctica are called “winter-overs.”Winter-overs are supplied with a large video collection, an exercise room, computers, a pool table and very good food.Not much is known about what happens at the station between February and October while the winter-overs are isolated at the South Pole.antarctic tours
Due to the huge growth of the research program at the South Pole, there are still continuous problems with insufficient electrical power.There are three oil-burning generators and these units are not enough to keep up with the demands of the technology that is being constantly introduced to the research program.Winter-overs have to deal with the power outages that occur as a result of this, which doesn’t help the cold.
Various traditions are used by winter-overs to help pass the time.If there’s a day in which the outside temperature is more than 100 degrees below zero, you can join the “300 Club.”The sauna is stoked up to 200 degrees for maximum warmth.Winter-overs enter the sauna, get hot, then run out into the cold, entering soon after, experiencing a 300 degree change in temperature.
The also look forward to the airdrop.Every June a delivery of food, mail, and supplies are dropped by a U.S. Air National Guard military transport plane.The winter-overs must then run outside and use heavy equipment to quickly get the vital and highly anticipated deliveries back into the station.This is the closest winter-overs are able to come to any physical contact with the world outside the South Pole.
In their stay in Antarctica, the winter-overs are never able to see a tree or go more than a mile from the pole.They look forward to the one week of vacation they get at McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic base.While here, the winter-overs are able to camp out in the 25-degree climate, bake in the sun, and relax in t-shirts and jeans.
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